2 Chronicles 20:1-3 - After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites
came to make war on Jehoshaphat. Some
men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army is coming
against you from Edom, from the other side of the Sea.
It is already in Hazazon Tamar" (that is, En Gedi). Alarmed, Jehoshaphat
resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all
Judah.
The combined armies of three nations were coming to take
over Jehoshaphat’s kingdom. He was
alarmed but he had the presence of spirit and mind to take his fear immediately
to God. He declared in that moment of full humility …a period fasting and
prayer from all his subjects…so he could focus completely on God and his answer
to this serious dilemma in all their lives.
The Lord sent his sprit to indwell one of the priests…to
give the people directions ….to tell them exactly what to do. Jahaziel words
from verse 15 spoke power into their whole beings…he said…. "Listen, King
Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says
to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast
army. For the battle is not yours, but God's.” He told them that
God was going with them…and he was going to fight for them…all they had to do
was go and watch him as he conquered all three armies.
The scene must have been an awesome confirmation of their
faith...as they saw how focusing their whole beings on God brought power …trust
…even complete victory to their kingdom. All three enemy armies were possessed
by God’s power and completely destroyed each other as the people of Judah stood
and watched. It took two days to collect
all the plunder from the three armies that fell completely to God’s power.
I have to admit that my experiences with fasting are weak at
best. I am thinking that the few times I
have given up one item in fast…to ask God for a specific request….have totally
missed the point of fasting in the first place. Perhaps this reminder from God
will help me understand the value of a true fast…and not water down my results
because I have given up so little in the exchange.
The fasts of the Bible were full attempts of self-sacrifice…that
focused the people’s attention fully on God. The fast of Jesus during his wilderness
stay recorded in Matthew 4 was a full 40 days and 40 nights. King David spent several days and nights
fasting and praying over his sick child in 2 Samuel 12. Hannah spent more than
one period of fasting at the Temple of Jerusalem in 1 Samuel 1…praying for a
child.
The only way to understand and comprehend the power of
fasting in your relationship with God is to do it…and do it the way the Bible
lays it out for us. To bring about the greatest results…it needs to be a full
out sacrifice of everything for a time in your life….and that is something I
have never been brave enough to do. Perhaps this day I will rethink it one more
time…and follow God’s advice in Matthew 6…to dress and behave as if I were not…so
only God will know of my sacrifice….it’s for him anyway.
Father…I thank you for this reminder of how powerful fasting
can be to our spiritual growth. Help me
to release the reservations that satan has placed in my heart and mind that
prevent me from experiencing your full power …because I have never called on
you in this way. Give me a new courage…to pick my greatest need…and walk fully
into your arms….and let go completely of
the flesh in a full fast. Let that time of full sacrifice teach me what it
really means to depend on you…and focus all my heart and soul on what you need
me to do for you in my time left on this Earth. Amen.
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